Now you can dig into a healthy, finger-lickin’ good fried chicken dinner without going to KFC to buy a bucketful of the bad stuff…

This past weekend, hubby and I were reminiscing about the pre-paleo days when we could enjoy good-old-fashioned fried chicken. You know the kind I’m talking about, cooked just right with a nice crispy texture – mmm!

It’s a simple and delicious recipe using healthy coconut oil that will give you savory homemade fried chicken with a yummy crunchy-textured crust. You can use this paleo recipe to make chicken fingers (your kids will love those!) or fry these up as larger pieces if you want a more knife and fork kind of dinner.

I combined crushed macadamia nuts with shredded organic coconut to make the chicken’s awesome crunchy crust. Then I added our honey-mustard sauce for dipping, and wow! We enjoyed this nut-crusted chicken with a side of sweet potato fries. All I can say is: Winner winner chicken dinner!

I used organic boneless chicken breasts that I pounded with a meat tenderizer to make the chicken just a little bit thinner. Then I cut each one one of those into about 4 pieces – each about the size of a large chicken tender. The key here is to make the pieces small enough so that it only takes about 3 minutes per side to cook through without burning.

I’m gonna warn ya, you might want to make a little extra chicken with this recipe because we enjoyed our leftover nut-crusted chicken the second day in a salad (recipe to come!) and used the remaining honey-mustard sauce as a salad dressing. It rocked! This just might be my new favorite go-to meal!

Speaking of leftovers, I’m always trying to help you all out with recipes that make good use of your leftovers without making you eat the exact same thing the next day. This recipe passes the leftover test with flying colors!

Hope you give this paleo nut-crusted chicken with dipping sauce a try. Healthy chicken fingers for the kids, and a delicious gluten-free chicken meal for us bigger kids who still love finger-lickin’ good fried chicken!

First make the Honey Mustard Sauce – just stir all its ingredients together in a small bowl and set it aside

Place macadamia nuts in a food processor or bullet blender and pulse for just a few seconds or use a nut chopper to crush

In a small bowl mix together the chopped nuts and shredded coconut, then spread the mixture out on a plate

Next mix together the coconut flour, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside

Now whisk the two eggs in another small bowl and set it aside.

(If using pre-cut tenders you can skip this step). Pound chicken breasts to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness and then cut each into about 4 pieces

Season your chicken with seasoning salt and pepper

Heat about 1/2-inch of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. (If the coconut oil is spitting back at you, it's too hot!)

Dip chicken pieces in the coconut flour and seasoning mixture and shake off the excess. Next dip chicken in the whipped eggs, and finally press the chicken firmly into the nut and coconut mixture to form a good coating on both sides

Cook in frying pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side or until crust is golden and chicken is cooked through. Place fried chicken pieces on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil

We just finished these for dinner. HUGE HIT!! So good with the dipping sauce. Can’t wait to have left overs for lunch tomorrow:) Made your spicy shrimp last night – scallops tomorrow. Delicious! Your recipes have been like a food bible in our new paleo lifestyle. Thank you so much!